Several cannabinoids display toxic effects on colorectal polyps

The International Journal of Molecular Sciences published this study on various cannabinoid extracts on polypoid colorectal tissue (colorectal polyps) in September 2022. They also used various blends of different cannabinoids including Delta 8- and Delta 9-THC, CBD, CBDV, THCV, CBDVA, CBCA, and CBGA.

The study used biopsies from polyps and healthy colonic tissue from 22 patients undergoing colonic polypectomies. Two of the patients were disqualified, so only 20 were ultimately included in their tests. Roughly half of the extracted polyps received single, isolated cannabinoids while the other half received a combination of several cannabinoids.

The least toxic (to polyps) isolated cannabinoids were CBCA and CBGA. However, their polyp toxicity increased significantly when combined with other cannabinoids. Overall the authors observed high variability among the different cannabinoids' "capacity to elicit toxicity on different polyps". 

Among the isolated (single) cannabinoids tested, Delta-8 THC and Delta-9 THC were found to be the most toxic in inhibiting polyp growth. They also observed synergistic effects when combining several cannabinoids together. The authors encouragingly noted the potential for general cancer treatment as well as the inhibitory properties of different cannabinoid combinations.

The authors summary of their tests:

provides evidence of a cytotoxic activity of botanic cannabinoid extracts and synthetic cannabinoids on colorectal polyps.

utilizing combinations of cannabinoids may be of particular interest in the treatment of cancer in general, as well as in the inhibition of pre-cancerous lesions and avoidance of recurrence following endoscopic removal. 

THC-d8 and THC-d9 were the most toxic and exhibited persistent toxicity in all the polyps tested.

The combinations of the cannabinoids CBDV, THCV, CBDVA, CBCA, and CBGA exhibited a synergistic inhibitory effect

CBCA and CBGA exhibited weak toxicity when administered as a single active compound and became significantly more toxic when combined with other cannabinoids

The full text article is here at MDPI.com.